A Few Remaining Unanswered Star Wars Questions After The Last Jedi

Star Wars: The Last Jedianswers a couple of the biggest questions surrounding the current Star Wars trilogy - but leaves many more unanswered. Episode VIII has received widespread critical acclaim, although not without the widest divide ever for a Star Wars movie between critics and fans, many of whom are taking Rian Johnson's sequel to task for the way he has chosen to address - or not address - several mysteries the writer-director inherited from J.J. Abrams' The Force Awakens.

To its credit, The Last Jedi tackles the backstory surrounding Luke Skywalker's exile on Ahch-To head on as well as provides a surprising answer to the mystery of who Rey's parents are. However, there remain huge questions that fans hoped would be answered in The Last Jedi left unresolved.

How did Maz Kanata Get Luke's Lightsaber?

The diminutive but resourceful Maz Kanata makes a brief but welcome appearance in The Last Jedi. Finn (John Boyega), Rose (Kelly Marie Tran) and Poe (Oscar Isaac) turn to her to help them find a codebreaker who can disable the locked door to the device that allowed the First Order to track the Resistance's ships through lightspeed. Maz was busy fending off a rather violent looking "union dispute" so she couldn't lend them her services personally.

However, at no point in her limited screen time is the lingering question posed to Maz: How did she acquire the blue lightsaber that once belonged to both Anakin (Hayden Christensen) and Luke Skywalker? Granted, the lightsaber question isn't a concern of Poe, Finn or Rose, not when they had a crisis that had to be dealt with immediately. Still, it's disappointing this huge plot hole from The Force Awakens still isn't addressed in The Last Jedi.

Maz told Rey how she came in possession of the lightsaber is "a story for another time." Fans hoped The Last Jedi would be that time. Since it was J.J. Abrams who posed that question in The Force Awakens, it would be ideal if he provided the answer at last when he comes back to direct Episode IXeven though that lightsaber has now been destroyed.

Why Did Luke's Lightsaber Call to Rey and Give Her a Vision?

The Last Jedi provided the answer to who Rey's parents are. It turns out that despite numerous fan theories about Rey being a Skywalker, a Kenobi, or some kind of immaculate birth by the Force like Anakin Skywalker was, the answer turned out to be none of the above. Rey has no genetic or legacy ties to the Skywalker family.

Therefore, every Star Wars fan can now join in on Maz Kanata's confusion regarding Rey that Luke's lightsaber "called to you?!" The lightsaber didn't just call to Rey, but it offered her a vision of the night Kylo Ren and the Knights of Ren destroyed Luke's Jedi Temple. Rey not being a Kenobi or a Skywalker makes the fact that Obi-Wan's voice can be heard calling Rey's name and saying "these are your first steps" even stranger.

The lightsaber may have ultimately been a means for the Force to initiate Rey's discovery of her abilities and fuel her desire to fulfill her destiny. If so, the Force chose an odd and roundabout way to go about it, but then, the Force moves in mysterious ways.